Chapter 172: Bai Feng’s Painful Closure of His Eyes
“Doing this forever isn’t going to cut it. Do I need to stack a fifth-grade Array too?”
Yu Ping An watched the portable sixth-grade Array he had crafted for show, silently giving up on that idea.
It was already too late. The remaining time wasn’t enough for him to rebuild his Array. All he could do now was continue refining the portable Array before him.
Originally, his plan was to rely on his self-created portable Array and compare it to Bai Feng, who was taught and handed down portable Array techniques by Master Liu Meng. Even if he lost in the Array contest, it would be a glorious defeat. But now, the roles had flipped.
What good was winning the Array challenge if he couldn’t get past the other side’s defenses? He was the big senior brother of the Spirit Sealing Sect, while the opponent was just an ordinary disciple with no fame. Even if the opponent lost, people wouldn’t talk about his strength—they’d be surprised that Guo Xiao could hold his own against him.
Thinking of this, he stared at the Array in front of him, and his heart grew calm.
As the match time ended, he completed the final detail.
Guo Xiao, too, wrapped up his Array at the last second. He looked at the sixth-grade Array he built himself, a genuine smile spreading across his face—he had succeeded!
Then he turned to look at Yu Ping An and his crafted sixth-grade Array. Still smiling.
He knew full well he couldn’t break through Yu Ping An’s Array. This contest was most likely a defeat for him, but that didn’t matter anymore.
“Senior Brother Yu, please.”
He extended his hand in an invitation.
Yu Ping An stared at him with a complicated look—like reminiscing, yet also in deep thought.
Finally, he lowered his head slowly and said, “I apologize for my previously arrogant attitude.”
“Senior Brother Yu, what do you mean?” Guo Xiao was stunned. He had imagined many possible reactions from Yu Ping An, even prepared for sarcasm, but he never guessed Yu Ping An would actually apologize.
“Seeing you made me realize I’ve strayed too far from my original intention,” Yu Ping An shook his head, turning to leave. “Let’s not push through with this Array anymore. I can’t break that sixth-grade Array. Let’s call it a draw.”
Guo Xiao felt somewhat confused. He didn’t believe Yu Ping An couldn’t break it—after all, he built a simplified version for time constraints, and since it was his first attempt, many issues remained. He thought Yu Ping An, with his skill, could likely crack it easily.
In the end, he shrugged, gave up on overthinking, and exited the stage with Yu Ping An.
Yu Ping An might have been speaking polite words, but he genuinely couldn’t break the sixth-grade Array. Since he had already declared a draw, Guo Xiao wouldn’t be fool enough to try experiencing it himself—that’d be asking for trouble.
Meanwhile, on the grandstand, Bai Feng painfully closed his eyes.
*d*mn you, Yu Ping An! What the hell do you mean by that?*
*If you’re not fighting me, you’re just trying to make me nauseous with your tricks!*
*And you can’t break the sixth-grade Array—what a load of cr*p!*
*I’m so angry! Why did Yu Ping An just give up? Why did everything turn out like this?*
[Beep! System Alert: Detected host strategizing early, setting up the trap with a few Array books to boost the talent of an unremarkable disciple, tying with Yu Ping An, and severely knocking down his arrogant swagger. Reward: Luck Points +666. Unknown Immortal’s work: “Terrain Array — Poison Pool Chapter.”]
Bai Feng looked at the system pop-up, finally sighing. As expected, it came.
Although Yu Ping An seemed to have realized something at the end, and a draw was a blessing for him, the fact remained: he had indeed tied with an ordinary disciple from the Heavenly Sword Sect, severely damaging his reputation. He’d never heard of a system that could balance both merits and faults—so those luck points were well-deserved.
That Poison Pool… felt oddly familiar, stirring painful memories. System, you mentioned an ‘Unknown Immortal’—could it be that some old rogue called a certain Old Thief?
‘Forget it, enough thinking. Just get through the team match first.’
Bai Feng shook his head. The plan had failed, but the match still needed to go on. He slowly stood up and, together with Su Lan Qian, headed toward the Heavenly Sword Sect team.
Meanwhile, a sacred land elder stepped onto the stage and announced, “Because the team competition was proposed by Bai Feng of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Bai Feng will only be overseeing Array construction, not participating directly.”
Yu Ping An, back at his seat, suddenly narrowed his eyes—if that were true, it meant Bai Feng wasn’t deliberately throwing the match to maintain victory.
*Haha, giving up his biggest advantage. Brave move.*
Yu Ping An sat upright, eager to see what Bai Feng was up to.
…
“Just as that elder said, I’ll only oversee the Array construction and won’t interfere.” Bai Feng addressed the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples participating in the team competition. “So, whenever you want to h*rass or defend against the opponents’ interference, it’s all up to you.”
He noticed the serious expressions on the disciples’ faces and offered some reassurance: “Don’t worry too much. Believe in yourselves—losing isn’t a big deal, after all, they’re from the Spirit Sealing Sect.”
“Senior Brother Bai, rest assured, we will absolutely not lose!”
“Yeah, with Bai Feng directing us, we’ve defeated them way too often!”
“Stop—let’s talk like champions after we win,” Bai Feng cut them off, not fond of premature champagne cheers. “Next, Sister Su will be in charge of commanding. If there are no objections, let’s begin.”
Seeing no resistance, Bai Feng led the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples to the competition arena.
Opposite them, the Spirit Sealing Sect disciples radiated with fighting spirit—not just because of past grudges in the Secret Realm, but because they absolutely couldn’t lose this fight!
If Bai Feng, the Array prodigy, was personally fighting, that’d be one thing. But now he was only responsible for commanding Array construction. Given their advantageous position, losing to a bunch of lesser-level Heavenly Sword Sect disciples would be a disgrace they couldn’t face.
“Start!”
With the elder’s command, the disciples immediately sprang into action.
Bai Feng, as the elder said, didn’t make a move himself. Instead, he ‘strolled’ inside the Array:
“Senior Brother, wait a moment. Southwest is still catching up. If you depict the Array marks now, it might cause problems.”
“Don’t rush. This multi-person Array needs careful observation of everyone’s progress. Moving too fast or slow is bad—you speeding up might just cause chaos.”
“That green-haired senior, you drew a wrong array line. No need to erase and redo. Just change it to…”
Bai Feng appeared to walk aimlessly within the Array, but each time he would precisely appear where a problem might arise, providing timely reminders.
To outsiders, his behavior might seem over-the-top or even annoying. But to a master Array craftsman, it was different. Bai Feng’s reminders were always timely, avoiding mistakes that could lead to clashes in the Array. Not only did he not hinder others, but he also sped up construction.
Meanwhile, Yu Ping An’s expression darkened. He could see Bai Feng’s mastery over multi-person Arrays, a skill built on solid fundamentals and keen observation.
He even spotted minor errors that others would overlook, as if the entire Array was transparent before him, revealing no secrets at all.
He couldn’t do what Bai Feng was doing.
Thinking back on his previous view of Bai Feng, he couldn’t help but mock himself—what was the most absurd was himself!
This wasn’t a waste of talent; perhaps even the Image Retainer was just Bai Feng casually made for fun. Yet he had been blinded by anger and prejudice, laughing at the other with such silly assumptions.
